


Reflection

by cloneclubbingcreampuff



Category: Jessica Jones (TV)
Genre: Accidental Flirting, F/F, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-09
Updated: 2016-01-09
Packaged: 2018-05-12 21:13:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5680978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cloneclubbingcreampuff/pseuds/cloneclubbingcreampuff
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I don't want to talk about Kilgrave," Jeri began, her voice coming out softly. It was a tone she hardly ever used and it felt scratchy against her throat.  Jessica seemed to sense that this was unfamiliar territory, and slumped her shoulders as Jeri gestured to the couch in the living room.  The lawyer walked towards it with measured steps, her wine glass in tow. The fireplace was lit, casting a warm glow over the room, and Jeri sighed as she felt the ambiance in the room ease.  A nervous tension insinuated itself in between her shoulder blades, but she ignored it.</p><p>They both sat, and Jessica wiped her nose with one of her gloved hands.  "I know.  I'm not saying we have to."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Reflection

Jeri Hogarth pressed her fingers against the glass of her window, glaring at her reflection. The darkness swallowed her, the lights from the city drowning out her features. This wasn't living, whatever she was doing. She had no one, and the loneliness she'd once thought she was immune to kept her up at night. She'd much rather Pam be the one keeping her up, but she wasn't taking Jeri's calls.

Her breath hit the glass, and she let out a low, guttural noise, somewhere between a grunt and a scream. Frustration. Pain. The emotions swirled in her gut until they were the only things she was aware of. Her responsibilities and her successes were inconsequential, ephemeral pieces of her life that didn't mean anything at all. 

She turned from the window and walked through her spacious apartment to the kitchen. The wine she poured herself went down smoothly, and she was on her second glass when she heard a hard knock at her door. She turned to the noise, then shrugged, hoping that whoever it was would go away. She frowned when the knocking turned into pounding that made the wine in her glass ripple. 

Sighing, Jeri walked to the door, having a pretty good idea of who the annoying interloper was. 

She wasn't mistaken. Jessica Jones was leaning against the door frame, her arms folded. It had been raining earlier, and her hair was slightly damp, clinging to her shoulders. Her cheeks were flushed, presumably from the cold. Jeri blinked, unsure why she was taking time to appraise the private eye's appearance. 

"What are you doing here?" 

Jessica shrugged. "Drinking alone can get boring, and I realized today that I'm all out of booze." Jessica's eyes flicked to the bottle of wine on the counter, and she pushed past Jeri without asking if she could come in. Classic. 

"Your empathy warms my heart," Jeri said slowly, turning around and shutting her door. She leaned against it, unsure of what was happening. She didn't need Jessica to be here. She didn't want to talk about the past few months, and she certainly didn't want to be patronized or pitied. 

Jessica stayed silent as she strode over to the wine bottle and took a long swig from it. 

Jeri winced. "Pour yourself a glass, for Christ's sake."

"Don't mind if I do," came the fake cheery reply, and Jeri clenched her fists as she bit back a scoff. She'd walked right into that one. 

"Is there any kind of alcoholic beverage you don't like?" 

"Nope." Jessica rummaged through her cupboards looking for a wine glass. She found one and turned around, a smirk on her face.

Jeri hadn't moved from her spot near the door, and for a few moments, both women stood on opposite ends of the apartment, sizing each other up. Jessica's eyes met hers in a silent challenge. 'Tell me to leave,' those eyes seemed to say. She wasn't sure why she didn't want to do that just yet. Call it natural curiosity. There had to be another reason for this, something that she wasn't seeing. Suspicion sprouted in her mind and she kept her eyes on Jessica, narrowing them slightly. 

"Tell me why you're really here," Jeri commanded, her voice clear. She didn't move as Jessica filled her glass. There was silence for a few moments, and Jeri wanted to stomp her foot in impatience. She contemplated just turning around and walking out her door, but brushed that thought aside. She wouldn't be forced to leave her own apartment; this was supposed to be her place of refuge, and she'd be damned if she let Jessica challenge that. 

Jessica swirled the wine around her glass before taking a sip, purposely stalling. She had better enjoy it, Jeri mused darkly. That bottle costed more than Jessica made in a month.

"Come on, Hogarth--"

"If this is some attempt at being heroic and acting like you care, Jessica, just save it," Jeri snapped, her patience having run out. 

Jessica downed her glass and stepped out from behind the bar in the kitchen, moving towards Jeri with heavybooted, quick steps. There was an anger blazing in her eyes that made something inside Jeri flare up. Something a lot like excitement, or perhaps fear, or an unsettling combination of the two. 

Jeri relaxed slightly as Jessica seemed to realize what she was doing. She stopped a few feet away, then shook her head and shoved her hands inside her pockets. A resignation, a retreat, but it didn't make Jeri feel victorious. She took two steps forward, but Jessica backed away and let out a tired scoff before saying:

"I came because I get it." She sounded unsure, as though she was trying the words on for size. "But hey, if you want to be a goddamn island for the rest of your lonely fucking life, then go ahead. Don't know why I even pretended to give a shit."

"I don't want to talk about Kilgrave," Jeri began, her voice coming out softly. It was a tone she hardly ever used and it felt scratchy against her throat. Jessica seemed to sense that this was unfamiliar territory, and slumped her shoulders as Jeri gestured to the couch in the living room. The lawyer walked towards it with measured steps, her wine glass in tow. The fireplace was lit, casting a warm glow over the room, and Jeri sighed as she felt the ambiance in the room ease. A nervous tension insinuated itself in between her shoulder blades, but she ignored it.

They both sat, and Jessica wiped her nose with one of her gloved hands. "I know. I'm not saying we have to." 

"You're here to talk, then?"

Jessica gave a stiff nod and shifted on the couch. The arm chair she was sitting in was distinctly less comfortable, but Jeri preferred sitting across from the leather clad woman, who was looking at her intently, waiting. This felt more and more like a business meeting with each second that passed, and Jeri was still wondering why Jessica had come to her tonight. To talk, of all things. They'd never been good at that.

Jeri glanced down at the oak coffee table. She smoothed out a wrinkle in her skirt and folded her hands in her lap. She didn't know what to say, and the silence stretched on for a few moments. Being caught off guard was something Jeri was not a fan of; it always left her feeling out of control. 

Finally, Jessica spoke. "Speechless, huh?" She let out a mirthless laugh. "It's just so sick that that bastard is the only thing we have in common." Her voice was tired, resigned almost. 

Jeri stiffened, but before she could speak, Jessica stood up. The wine glasses were laid out on the coffee table, Jeri's still half full. Her footsteps were muted by thick carpet as she made her way to the door. 

She didn't say anything, just gave Jeri a half-hearted wave and left. 

 

\----

 

Jeri had hoped that the weirdness would stop there. That she'd be able to forget Jessica's visit, or at least repress it. The entire evening felt unreal, even now, almost two weeks after that awkward and virtually one-sided conversation. It was just so out of character for Jessica to care about what anyone was feeling, and it gave her the sinking feeling that the private investigator was trying to manipulate her. For what purpose, she had no clue. A strange twisting in her stomach confirmed that she hadn't gotten any closer to figuring out the conundrum that was Jessica Jones. 

She wasn't an obstacle, or a means to an end. She wasn't a hero or a villain or a pawn to be used by anyone else. She was in control, she was out of control. She was everything in between. 

A knock on her office door pulled Jeri out of her thoughts, and she flipped open the folder on her desk, adjusting her glasses slightly. Her new secretary, Ben, popped his head in to remind her of an appointment at 2:30 with a new client. Jeri nodded and thanked him before he disappeared. His competence and efficiency were unparalleled. Jeri closed her eyes and took her glasses off, then slid a hand over her face, remembering. 

Pam would have given her a smile, or maybe a kiss, or maybe she would have just lifted her skirt a little as she sashayed out of the room. Her smile, bright and promising, had always made Jeri feel as though she could move mountains. If Pam was still here, Jeri wouldn't be stuck thinking about some rude, infuriating woman who had the nerve to completely throw Jeri off her game by proving that she'd pegged her wrong. 

 

\----

 

The cupboard where she kept her wine was definitely missing a few bottles. Jeri stepped back and narrowed her eyes. She opened the fridge, searching for the bottle she'd opened yesterday. 

It was gone. 

Fuming, Jeri dug her hand into her purse and fished out her phone.

"Hello?" Jessica's voice wasn't coy or full of fake innocence, as Jeri had expected. It was getting harder and harder to predict her behavior. 

"Jessica, it's Hogarth. I'm not even going to ask if you stole my wine, because it would be an insult to your intelligence as well as mine. So if you could just return the bottles you stole I'll hold off on charging you with breaking and entering."

"You sure know how to sweet talk a girl," Jessica replied dryly. 

Jeri rolled her eyes. 

 

\----

 

That evening, Jessica came by Jeri's apartment to return two and a half bottles of wine. Jeri thanked her stiffly before reluctantly inviting her in, because it wasn't as if she had any plans. She didn't ask if Jessica did; that was something friends did and their dynamic could never be classified as anything remotely close to that. 

"Turns out we do have something in common," Jessica said as she sat on Jeri's couch. Jeri sat across from her on the soft leather loveseat.  
"That wine is delicious."

"So you're saying I should be glad you decided to steal from me, since it gives us some common ground?" Jeri remarked, raising an eyebrow. "You do know who you're talking to, right?"

"Just put it on my tab," Jessica retorted.

"You're never going to get around to paying that off, are you?"

"Probably not." 

They both shared a laugh, then stiffened at the same time. It would have been comical, Jeri thought, if she was an outside observer. As it was, she was suspended inside some kind of nightmarish reality where nothing was going according to plan. She was supposed to be figuring out what Jessica's ulterior motive was. Confusion and suspicion warred with each other as Jeri was caught in the middle, completely lost. She glanced towards Jessica, who met her eyes. 

"Um..." Jessica murmured. "Well, you have your wine. I'll see you around," she added, then stood up. 

Jeri stood up as well. 'Thank you for showing some basic human decency,' was what she meant to say, but the words that came out were: "I'm sure you will." 

What was worse was that the strange lilt in her voice (where had that come from?) and the way Jessica was looking at her added a whole other layer to this...whatever the hell this was. Her comment wasn't meant to be flirtatious or seductive, but Jeri felt her cheeks heat up and wondered if she should just give up. Move to some other city and start over, where hopefully, there wouldn't be any copies of Jessica Jones walking around. 

Jessica didn't smile, but her mouth twitched as she zipped up her jacket before quickly walking to the door and swinging it open. She pulled her hood up and opened her mouth, pivoting and facing Jeri as if she was planning on saying something. But then she just walked out, leaving Jeri to deal with the residual confusion.


End file.
